STORIES
The Russian soldiers look for acquaintances in Ukraine.

Zaborona chatted with them
Anastasiya Opryshchenko
September 21, 2022
Illustration: Maria Petrova
Photo: Pavlo Gonchar / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
Russian propaganda often contradicts itself: it cannot decide who the Ukrainians are — a kind of sub-nation or just Russians who do not understand their own Russianness? "One nation" or "Jewish Ukrainian Banderites"? This contradiction does not arise among the soldiers of the Russian Federation, who are looking for interlocutors, a one-night stand, or even a wife with whom they could build a house in the occupied territory among the "Nazis" and "Khokhlushkas" (a derogatory Russian term for Ukrainian women) — yes, there are such cases.
Zaborona learned about this from Tinder, where you can find occupiers who are looking for new acquaintances among the people they came to kill.
Screenshot from Tinder
Zaborona journalist Anastasiya Opryshchenko was given a very unpleasant task. She registered on Tinder to conduct an experiment: to find and ask Russian soldiers, why they are here, what they think about the war started by their own country, and to see how they build their image in communication with girls from Ukraine.
Screenshots from Tinder
To find the military from the Russian Federation, I bought a Tinder premium subscription, which allows me to change geolocation and search for users hundreds of kilometers away from me. It is not difficult to find a profile of a military or volunteer from Russia: you can always find 1-2 photos in camouflage, and some post photos with the letters Z, V, O, or the DNR and LNR symbols.
Screenshot from Tinder
The first match is Artem, 22 years old. He was born in Snizhne in the Donetsk region and was a citizen of Ukraine for the first 16 years of his life. 6 years ago, Artem moved to Russia, where he has been serving in the Russian army for three years.
Artem was born in Donbas region. Now he is trying to occupy the country of his birth.
Screenshot from Tinder
That’s why he likes to be Russian and what is good about its politics. And also here are some the Russian lessons in futurology
Screenshot from Tinder
After , the connection with him is cut off. Artem is not the most talkative interlocutor. But then I come across more talkative military men.
Screenshot from Tinder
The next one is Ramzan (Roman) Makhbus Ogly Suleymanov, 27 years old. He belongs to the National Bolshevik Party, banned in Russia, founded by left-wing radical and writer Eduard Limonov. Suleymanov claims that he came to fight voluntarily to unite Russia with Ukraine.
Screenshot from Tinder
Suleymanov admires Limonov's books and has writing ambitions. He says that war is the best place to write, as Limonov, who came to cover the war in the former Yugoslavia and supported the genocidal actions of the Serbs. Ramzan is a chit-chat lover.
This is how Ramzan comments on the death of his compatriots
Screenshot from Telegram
Some thought about Ukrainians and Russians as a so-called one nation
Screenshot from Telegram
All the occupiers — including those who took part in the occupation of Kyiv suburbs — avoid answering the question of whether they took part in murders, looting, or other war crimes. This is not part of the Tinder gentleman set.
It seems that Suleymanov is trying to create the image of a leftist radical who goes to fight for "great ideas". According to him, military violations are not compatible with these ideas — especially in a conversation with a girl. When asked whether Suleymanov took part in looting, he replied that he did not. However, the description of his account contains a link to his channel — @NB_Sul. There he talks about military everyday life, posts propaganda agitations and memes. For example, this one:
And this is no longer a meme. This is the confirmation of his looting in the Zaporizhzhia region, published on the channel — 21 kilograms of stolen things.
Ramzan sees no problem in using a dating platform in the occupied territories. He writes that he often corresponds with Ukrainian women on Tinder. But there is one "but".
Screenshot from Telegram
On August 15, Ramzan's sister, Zemfira Suleimanova, an activist of the "Other Russia" and a national activist, hit a mine in Donetsk. After that, we have not been in touch much.
Screenshot from Telegram
Screenshot from Tinder
And this is Andrey Maksimov from the Leningrad region. He wrote to me first. He says that thanks to the army he has visited the European part of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, as a civilian he would not have been able to leave his native region.
Maksimov took part in the battles near Kyiv. Chatting, I had to be careful and not ask too direct questions. So I hinted at the genocidal murders in Bucha, Borodyanka, Irpin, and other settlements. Like my other interlocutors, he denies acts of aggression by the Russian Federation — he says, it's a fake.
Screenshot from Telegram
Photos from occupied Popasna that Maksimov sent to Zaborona journalist
Screenshot from Tinder
Another match — Mera, 27 years old, a citizen of Abkhazia. Mera is trying to create an image from a chivalric novel: he fights as a volunteer not for money, but for the "idea of ​​helping people" in Donbas. He feels guilty about being in the hospital while his brethren fight on the front lines.
Screenshot from Telegram
Mera is already planning the future
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Mera prefers to communicate via voice messages, looking for more intimate communication. Zaborona’s journalist had to listen the messages. We would like to introduce you to it too.
Here Mera accuses Ukrainians of this war, calling them Benderas. Adding that not only they, but also Poles, Americans and everyone who helps Ukraine are guilty.
Audio from Telegram
Not all military personnel with whom we spoke were adequate — these interlocutors are rather an exception. We saved the hard case for the end.
Screenshots from Tinder
Screenshot from Tinder
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